Amit Haldar
Port Blair, Aug 31: Three salt water crocodiles inside the residential area of Port Mout village of South Andaman today triggered panic among residence.
According to details this morning a family living in Port Mout village found altogether three crocodiles in their field very close to their house.
While two crocodiles reportedly escaped from the place seeing people, one crocodile was caught by the family members, so that evidence of increasing crocodile threat could be shown to Andaman’s forest department.
Port Mout area is situated next to Loha Barraik Crocodile Sanctuary, where last month one youth was killed by a giant salt water crocodile while fishing.
Residents of the area have been demanding shifting of the Crocodile Sanctuary to any other place far from these villages or aleast an assurance from Andaman’s Forest Department about their safety.
“If Forest Department is willing to maintain Crocodile Sanctuary in our area then atleast the department must do proper fencing so that Crocodiles do not enter residential area,” Mr. Mohan Halder the Pradhan of Chouldari Village told Andaman Sheekha today.
Residents of the area now fear that any day these Crocodile can even enter inside their houses too.
“I doubt other two crocodiles have entered our pond. The forest department must ensure our safety,” said owner of the house Mr. Mohanjeet Singh.
In last five years about one dozen people, including a tourist from USA, have been killed by salt water crocodiles of A & N Islands.
Crocs have also been sighted repeatedly in famous tourist beaches of Corbyn’s Cove and North Bay.
Recently the Forest Department carried out a census of crocodiles of Andaman and Nicobar Islands but the result of the census has not been made public yet.
Issue must be taken up properly regarding the break wall or proper fencing in the sanctuary……..